Medical scribe careers are advancing due to the amount of paperwork in hospitals increasing, patient frequency increasing, and doctors having less time to perform extra duties. Medical scribes assist doctors or nurse practitioners by managing paperwork or medical records.
Some hospitals will hire someone for a medical scribe job based on secretarial experience or experience at the front desk of a doctor’s private practice. However, if you want to make a career in the medical scribe field, it’s best to take a training course. Medical scribe training systems offer courses that provide education about medical terminology and pharmacology.
Medical Terminology
Medical terminology involves many prefixes or suffixes that are mostly derived from Greek and Latin. Most laypeople do not immediately recognize the meaning of prefixes or suffixes of medical terminology, but with training from a medical scribe course, medical terminology can become a type of second language. With this information, a medical scribe will instantly recognize the language that a doctor is using when describing a patient’s diagnosis or condition.
Pharmacology
Along with medical terminology, a medical scribe would benefit greatly from taking a course about pharmacology. Pharmacology is the study of drugs by class, drug names, how types of drugs are used, and drug monitoring. A medical scribe can play the role of an assistant or consultant with a doctor in some instances. Medical scribes never participate in direct patient care. Scribes only interact regularly with a doctor. A medical scribe with an understanding of drugs could assist a doctor with choosing a drug that does not have negative reactions with other drugs that a patient is taking. Maintaining medical records will also be easier with at least a minor understanding of pharmacology.
Preparation for a Career
Participating in a medical scribe course will benefit someone who is looking for a career in the medical field that is not as intensive as medical school or nursing school. The job of a medical scribe can be exciting and fulfilling even if there is no direct patient contact. Medical scribe training systems or programs can provide knowledge and education which will make integrating into a new career field easier.
